Health minister eyes ban on flavoured e-cigarettes

Federal health minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) wants to ban all flavours for e-cigarettes, commonly known as vapes, except tobacco. He is looking to propose a ban to this effect to the government as soon as possible.

“We must protect our children and prevent a new generation from becoming addicted to smoking. Vapes are deliberately made with their attractive flavours to entice young people to smoke. That is unacceptable. We must take tough action against this,” he said.

"While children and young people enjoy the taste of, for example, bubble gum, popcorn or raspberry, they ingest nicotine or even tar or pesticides. A ban on these flavours is therefore the only solution to better protect our children and break the power of the tobacco lobby."

His proposal is in line with a bill by MP Els Van Hoof (CD&V), a long-time campaigner in parliament for restrictions on vapes, and whose bill proposing to ban flavoured vapes has been on the table since 2020.

Vandenbroucke said his decision was based on a new report by the Superior Health Council. While the council was hesitant about a full ban, experts now agree stronger limits are needed.

Some argue that a few flavours could help smokers quit, but the Council says protecting young people must come first. Recent research, including the Health Survey 2022-2023 published by Sciensano in July 2025, reveals a sharp rise in vaping amongst pupils.

Almost a third of people contacted for the Sciensano study have tried e-cigarettes and weekly use is four times more common than it was five years earlier. In particular, the ten-fold increase in daily use of the e-cigarette in the 15-24 age group is striking (from 0.6% in 2018 to 6.3% in 2023-2024).

Moreover, recent World Health Organisation data released earlier this month show that globally more than 15 million 13–15-year-olds use e-cigarettes and are, on average, nine times more likely than adults to use e-cigarettes.

Experts now favour a strict restriction on flavours in e-cigarettes, either following the Dutch model, where only tobacco flavour is allowed, or with a few other exceptions, the minister said.

“The electronic cigarette is the invention of an industry that seeks to make a new generation of children addicted to nicotine,” Vandenbroucke said. “The countless flavours camouflage the considerable harmfulness of this product.”

A trip to any Brussels sales outlet reveals a cornucopia of choice from popcorn and passionfruit to bubble gum and butterscotch.

The health minister notes further that the Netherlands has taken effective action. Since January 2024, only tobacco flavour vapes were allowed. This measure paid off, as after nine months, nearly 30% of users reported vaping less, and more than 20% said they had quit without returning to cigarettes.

Unsurprisingly, e-cigarette manufacturers criticised the proposed ban. “Hundreds of shops” will have to close if a flavour ban is introduced, said Belgium’s federation of e-cigarette retailers and distributors, VapeBel.

The federation said that it represented more than 700 jobs in an already strictly regulated environment. In addition, it argues that the legal e-cigarette sector contributes about €80 million to the Belgian treasury every year through excise duties and other taxes.

The group also said that a ban would play into the hands of the already booming black market. Prodipresse, the Liege-based federation of independent French-speaking booksellers and newsagents, agrees, arguing: “Drastically reducing the range of products available will push consumers towards illegal products via the internet.”

The Dendermonde-based Flemish professional federation for press, tobacco and gambling sellers Perstablo further criticised the plan as “an absurd measure with disastrous consequences”. It added that it would explore all legal options to challenge the proposal, questioning both its validity and the decision-making process behind it.

Vandenbroucke’s measure follows earlier steps such as banning disposable vapes and restricting smoking in public spaces popular with young people such as cafe terraces and sports grounds.